Archaeoindris fontoynontii is a gorilla-sized extinct giant lemur, the
largest primate known from Madagascar. This sloth lemur was related to
the extinct Palaeopropithecus and became extinct around 350 BCE. It was
first described by Herbert F. Standing in 1909 based on subfossil jaw
fragments, although a complete skull was later found. Only six bones
from the lower skeleton have been located. The skeleton was massive and
the arms were longer than the legs, but no hand or foot bones are known.
Size estimates range as high as 244.1 kilograms (538.1 pounds), but
regression analyses predict a mass of 160 kg (350 lb). Misattributions
and limited remains have resulted in differing opinions about how this
lemur moved. Its skeleton suggests it was a climber that also travelled
on the ground. Its diet was mostly leaves, and its former habitat, a mix
of woodlands and savanna, is now mainly grassland. When humans arrived
on Madagascar, it was still extant but vulnerable to hunting and habitat
loss.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeoindris>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1849:
Elizabeth Blackwell graduated from Geneva Medical College in
New York, making her the first woman to receive a medical degree in the
United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Blackwell>
1909:
Two men committed an armed robbery in Tottenham, London, and
led police on a two-hour chase, partially by tram, that ended in the
perpetrators' suicides.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tottenham_Outrage>
1942:
World War II: Japan began an invasion of the island of New
Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rabaul_%281942%29>
2002:
American journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and later
murdered by al-Qaeda agents in Karachi, Pakistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Pearl>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
gigot:
1. A leg of lamb or mutton.
2. (fashion) Short for gigot sleeve (“a type of sleeve shaped like a leg
of mutton”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gigot>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Beauty is nothing other than the promise of happiness.
--Stendhal
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stendhal>